Biden suggests ‘military solution’ to Syrian conflict

Joe Biden signaled a possible new direction for U.S. policy toward Syria in remarks in Turkey on Saturday, where the vice president was meeting with Turkish leaders to discuss the bloody civil war next door.

Biden was speaking at Istanbul’s Dolmabahçe Palace, where he held meetings with Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu and President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.

The U.S. is “neither optimistic nor pessimistic,” but “determined” to reach a political solution to the Syrian conflict, he said according to a pool report of his comments.

But Biden also went beyond past Obama administration statements and suggested the U.S. would be willing to use military means if necessary.

“We do know that it would be better if we can reach a political solution but we are prepared — we are prepared if that’s not possible to have a military solution to this operation and to taking out Daesh,” the vice president said, using the Arabic acronym for the Islamic State in the Levant, also known as ISIS or ISIL.

Turkey and the U.S. have had intense differences over which of the witches’ brew of militant groups in the region to characterize as terrorist groups, and the meeting seemed intended to close those gaps.

Davutoğlu said they had agreed on “a united front against terrorism,” mentioning ISIL, the PKK and Jabhat al-Nusra, al Qaeda’s affiliate in Syria. “We believe we should be acting against all these terrorist organizations in harmony,” the Turkish prime minister said. “We are on the same page regarding this as well.”

The National Security Council declined to say whether Biden’s remarks signaled a shift in U.S. strategy.

Biden reassured Turkey, which is dealing with a flare-up in its long-running conflict with Kurdish separatist groups led by the PKK. The PKK, Biden said, “is a terrorist group plain and simple” — one he said has defied the Turkish government efforts to make peace. Until that changes, “you must do what you need to protect your people,” Biden said.

But Davutoğlu also described a Kurdish militia that is reportedly working with U.S. special forces in Syria, the YPG, as a terrorist group, indicating some remaining disagreement between the two allies. “We believe that YPG is a part of the PKK, and it receives open support from the PKK,” he said. Biden, pointedly, did not mention the YPG in his own list of terrorist groups. According to Al Jazeera, the U.S. recently took over a Syrian air base near the Turkish border with the YPG’s help.

Biden’s remarks come days ahead of long-anticipated Syria peace talks, which have been in limbo amid a bitter feud between the Middle East’s longtime rivals: Iran and Saudi Arabia. Secretary of State John Kerry is in Riyadh, where he held talks with top Saudi officials — discussions Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir described as “clear and transparent and frank.”

Kerry did not announce a date for the Syria talks, which were originally slated for January 25 in Geneva but were delayed amid disagreements over who would represent the Syrian opposition. The discussions will convene “very shortly,” Kerry said, “because we want to keep the process moving and put to full test the readiness and willingness of people to live up to the two communiques and U.N. resolution, and begin the process of bringing the transition council — transition governing process of Syria into a reality.”

The National Security Council declined to say whether Biden’s remarks signaled a shift in U.S. strategy, and directed questions to the vice president’s office. But Kerry, in Riyadh, said the goals of the U.S. and its allies hadn’t changed: “a transition governance process, for a new constitution, for elections, and for a ceasefire.”

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ariely shein

The ME solution is the same as has been done in Balkans:
The artificial Yugoslavia was divided between minorities:Croatia-Serbia-Bosnia-Slovenia
It is good for the Balkans.
Help forming independent states for:
Kurds- Allawi’s- Maroan Christians- Sunni – Shia.
—
Doctor know that treating only symptoms will not cure the decease.
What are the ME symptoms to be treated?

1:”The spirit of fanaticism and narrow-mindedness, whose roots are deep in the heart of the Arab Muslims toward all those who are not Muslim, is the spirit that continually feeds the Islamic religion”

**” A black future awaits minorities”

Quoted from Assad’s the butcher grandfather letter to French UK governments in 1932. Predicts Muslim Slaughter of minorities,required not to form the ME artificial states.
Assad’s grandfather family lived in ME for centuries and knew the people.

2:England, France after WW1,disregard Assad’s grandfather letter and created the artificial states Lebanon- Syria- Iraq-Libya-Jordan.
The artificial states are formed by rival tribes,rival religions, many minorities.
They are in endless conflict for centuries: Sunni-Shia-Christian’s-Kurds- Allawi’s-Berbers–Marons- Zoharists-Copts-Druze and other minorities.

3:Warning to the west leaders lead by Obama:
Don’t support the survival of the artificial states-the wars will continue decades to come.
Correcting one colossal mistake (the artificial states) by another colossal mistake will not solve the problem.
It will be more dangerous.
The potential mistake is giving up the hegemony of the region to Islamist Iran.

Allowing the creation of modern times fertile including Islamsit Iran+Iraq+Syria+Lebanon.
Remember that the Persians and the descends of the ME empires converted to Islam are geopolitical enemies for 4000 years.
The former Persians converted to Shia and the Sunni are ideological enemies for the 1400 years.

4: Unfortunately, i predict that the west leaders lead by Obama don’t fit to size this historical opportunity

Posted on 1/24/16 | 9:10 AM CET

Tim Bond

For 2016 read 1914? The lights going out soon across Europe?
And still sending more US troops to Iraq and Afghanistan; now Syria?
Not all quiet on the middle eastern front